Manchester United welcome rivals Manchester City to Old Trafford at lunchtime on Saturday, with Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola reigniting their rivalry.
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After years of spats and bitterness during their time together in Spain, there’s been a healthy respect between the two managers since they took charge of Manchester City and Manchester United during the offseason.
“I said it many times – I have a lot of respect for Jose Mourinho, I always try to learn from all of my colleagues – it’s the same with him”, he added.
The pair worked together at Barcelona under Bobby Robson, when Guardiola was a player and Mourinho was a member of the backroom staff.
The Catalan said: “The last period in Madrid, Barcelona was not easy for both of us but we met each other two or three weeks ago at the Premier League managers’ (meeting) and we spoke fluently with Ronald Koeman, with Tony Pulis and so on, and it was correct”.
And about that glass of wine after the match at Old Trafford, as was often shared between Mourinho and Alex Ferguson?
Both Mourinho’s United and Guardiola’s City are putting flawless starts on the line, but it’s only the fourth round of the Premier League, resuming after the break for World Cup qualifying.
Mourinho said he was more concerned with City’s players than Guardiola.
Guardiola has only watched one previous Manchester derby all the way through, last season’s 1-0 win for United at the Etihad Stadium when he had already signed the contract to become City manager.
“We know how we are going to play tomorrow – and we know we’re going to play a real good team”. They were a very good team last season, two, three, four seasons ago. “Maybe since the new owners arrived at Man City”, Mourinho said.
“They had very good managers”. They bought some more very good players.
Games like this require the big players to stand up and be counted but it’s also the opportunity for others to make a name for themselves in the most hostile of atmospheres.
Mkhitaryan returned from worldwide duty with a thigh strain while Shaw left the England camp in Slovakia early after reportedly complaining of an ache in the leg he broke last season.
The Manchester Derby will soon be upon us this weekend so it’s time to start thinking about which of the players on show in the first big title clash of the season will be in your FanDuel side.
As for City, Sergio Aguero misses out as he now serves a three-match suspension after the Winston Reid incident, but Guardiola does welcome Ilkay Gundogan and Leroy Sane into his squad.
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Mourinho, however, claimed the uncertainty about who Guardiola will select to replace the Argentina striker actually makes life harder for him.
